Small Fish in A Large Tank
by MaidenMoonshine
Summary: Hetty goes shopping for her doppleganger fish. Based on the episode "The Chosen One" (season 4, episode 13 - hilarious episode!). Part of the One Year of Posting Celebration!


**Yay! Part four of the One Year of Posting Celebration! If you missed the others, they are an NCIS:Los Angeles one-shot "Mother", NCIS one-shot "Exes and Ohs", and the next chapter of "The Finding of Cable". **

**I had SO much fun writing this story, so I hope that you will enjoy! **

**...**

The bells jingled as the door opened and closed. Pete, the pet store owner looked up, then frowned in confusion. There was no one there.

"I want to buy a fish," a commanding voice announced. The burly man with dog bite scars, cat paw tattoos, and a snake wrapped around his arm stepped around the high counter - and nearly ran over one of the smallest women that he had ever met. She had extremely short bangs, large glasses, a purple suit, and a bright orange silk scarf around her neck. He gulped. Despite being six foot two inches and the toughest guy he knew, he felt a little intimidated by the woman's searching gaze.

"Can I help you?" Pete asked.

"As I stated previously, I want to buy a fish."

"Oh, okay."

An old lady showing up to buy a fish was normal, regular. Nothing so scary about that. He took the snake off, about to place it back in its tank, but the lady held out her hands.

"What a lovely corn snake specimen! May I hold it?"

Although Pete nearly never let anyone else hold Cornelia, he wordlessly held out the snake. The woman had obviously handled the animals before and she expertly supported his baby's scaly body.

"Now about those fish?"

"Uh, what kind are you looking for?" he asked, leading the way to the wall of vibrant, moving water and colours.

"One like me."

Pete frowned in confusing. "Uh, ma'am, I need you to be more specific."

She smiled at Cornelia as she replied, "You see, one of the young people I work with decided to create a doppleganger fish tank. He has a fish for each person in the office - except he has not chosen one for me yet. He has had an increased workload the last bit so I thought that I would take the task off of his list and find a fish for myself."

"Great idea," Pete said. Really, he had no clue what she was talking about, but if he made money off of it, he was in full support.

"Obviously, it must be something that can control a tank, make a statement."

"Of course."

"And a flash of colour. I always do like a flash of colour."

"Yep."

"And refined."

Pete looked desperately around the fish tanks. He barely knew the meaning of refined - and now he had to find a fish that was just that and the whole bag of chips.

"What about a baby shark?"

"Oh, that sounds good!" she said, then her face drooped. She was obviously very disappointed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It would eat the other fish, would it not?"

"Yeah."

"As I do not engage in cannibalism, I do not believe that is the correct choice. Although perhaps I will be back for one as a pet at some future date. Maybe I should look around and see if one suits me?"

"Help yourself," he said, relieved. She strolled around slowly, stroking Cornelia the whole time. Yet it was a surprised when she stopped in front of the guppy tank and peered in at the colourful fish.

"I found my fish," she announced.

"Yeah, guppies are nice." They weren't quite as commanding as she was, but the colourful part was fulfilled.

"I want the yellow one with the six small black spots," she told him.

Pete began the process of catching her fish. Three times he caught guppies with yellow tails and black spots. Three times he was told that it was "not the one I specified!" Finally, he heard a triumphant, "Yes! That's the one!" and he flicked the tiny fish into the waiting plastic bag. The lady gravely traded back Cornelia for the bag and paid.

"Before you go, why did you want that particular guppy?" Pete asked. "Like, a guppy's a guppy."

The woman raised an eyebrow speculatively. "It's always the small ones you've got to watch. This one here - she is everything I wanted."

And then, like a phantom, she once again disappeared behind the height of the desk. The door opened, bells jingled, and she and her extraordinary guppy were gone.

...

"And see how well they have settled, Owen?" Hetty told the assistant director a week later. She was now more proud of the doppleganger tank than Deeks - a fact that her favourite team found incredibly amusing when they talked behind what they thought was her turned back. Indeed, she had shown it to every official who had come through the doors. She was especially fond of her little guppy who consistently led the other fish around the tank.

"Callen calls her Mini Hetty, and I rather like my namesake," she told the speculative Granger. He raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"And did I happen to make it into this tank, Hetty?" he asked with amusement.

"Why, of course, Owen!" she said with that twinkle in her eye that indicated that she was amused. "I believe that you were put in before any of the others."

"Which one am I then?" he asked, his curiousity finally aroused although he sensed that Hetty had a joke in play.

"Can't you recognize yourself?" she asked innocently, pointing to the dancing skeleton popping in and out of the treasure chest. "It's a perfect likeness!"

Granger could not help himself - he chuckled right along with the cunning Henrietta Lange, while Mini Hetty swam up to the skeleton, wiggled her tail, then darted away in a flash of colour.

It was clear who was boss of the tank.

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! Please remember to review! Want a hint what the next post today will be? How about an update on "Echoes"? Sounds good to me! Hope to see you there! **


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